Honoured Brother
by Kuroi-cho-tsuki-shiro
Summary: Byakuya calls Rukia to him on the Sokyoku and begins to tell her his story. A series of shorts based on the story of Bleach from Rukia's point of view. 39
1. Chapter 1

"Kuchiki-_san, _your brother wishes to speak with you. He says that it is important."

Unohana-_taichou _was not given to tolerating interruptions in her work and her tone was serious, jolting Rukia out of her reverie. The Fourth Division captain's face softened as she approached and Unohana slipped one hand around Rukia's shoulders, leading her over to where her brother was laid out on the ground. Wards had been set around his body at the four points of the compass. Thin streams of _kido _ran from one to another, encircling him and forming a field of magic that would, for a time at least, keep him alive. Rukia hesitated, but Unohana stepped into the field, drawing the younger woman with her. Once inside, the captain released her hold on Rukia's shoulders.

Byakuya was sleeping. His skin was pale. While many of the wounded had been carried away from the plateau, Unohana had chosen not to move him any further than was completely necessary at this time: a testament to the severity of his injuries.

Rukia knelt down. She wasn't sure what she was meant to do. She hated this man; she always had. And yet his presence had fallen like a shadow over so much of her life that she couldn't imagine an existence without it. Moreover, she had a burning need to understand why, at the end, he had wanted to give his life for hers.

She took his hand. It was quite cold and she held it between both her own, wishing that she could force some of her own warmth into his fingers. His eyes did not open, but his lips formed the outline of her name:

"Rukia."

"I'm here, _Nii-sama."_

"I'm sorry," he said. His voice was so soft that she had to lean in to hear, and she wondered if he felt her shiver. Those were two words he had never spoken before to her: "Can you forgive me?"

She didn't answer.

For a long time, he was silent. She was unsure if he was even conscious. Then his grip tightened within hers: "Rukia?"

"Yes."

"There's something important you should know." He coughed. Unohana shifted, but knelt back when he caught his breath again. "You never asked me why I adopted you into my family."

"The servants told me, _Nii-sama. _I look very much like your dead wife. So I know and it's – it's alright. I don't mind."

"I asked my staff to lie to you." His grey eyes opened and, for once, there was no barrier between her and his thoughts. She saw pain and memory and something more. His hold on her hand tightened: "That was not the reason. It was never the reason."

"Then why?" she said.

And he began to explain.

***************************END OF TRACK 3 *********************************************

_When the cold in my heart leaves, it comes to an end_

_And, quietly, I'll go to sleep._

_Follow me into the light._

_Like ice on a lake of tears, I'll take you through._

_Or leave me tonight._

_I've gone too far to begin anew._

_**From "Somewhere in Time," Kamelot**_

_Moonlight, crawling down on me, just like you,_

_Could not compete with my pride._

_**From "Moonlight," Kamelot**_


	2. Chapter 2

**To Shadewolf7, Truantpony, ForbiddenME, Pinky357, Immortal Vows, Chellythemadhatter, Insomniatic95, Sallythedestroyerofworlds23, UNTensaZangetsu, XDark FangsX, Superlynx, Ichigoforeverlove, Ennaalemap, Makaykay15, Kaze05, Splash into Forever, War90, Yellowwomanonthebrink, Bakane, Night Flower, Hallmarktrinity, Tiffany Park, Snowcrystals, Neristhaed, Splitheart1120, VanillaTwilight4, Nightfur, Happykiller93, Haildance, Ani-mimi, Mysticalphoenix-avalon, Jennyrdr and Goranr.**

**And everyone else who is reading and reviewing. THANK YOU!**

**This story is going to continue in another called WHEN THE SKY BURNED, which I'm uploading now, but please read on!**

**Important author's note:**

**_Hisana is the reason I started putting my fiction online. _**

**_Initially, I started writing Rukia's story purely as a bit of fun. When it came to Hisana, I didn't want to write out the whole episode in Byakuya's voice. The upcoming story also follows on from one where Aizen had loads of exposition, and there's only so much listening you want to do!_**

**_ So I decided to write from the pov of Hisana herself. Most of this was written while I was having one of the worst times at work that I've ever had. The result was that I put poor Hisana through hell. I also went way off of the regular Bleach story as I realised, shortly after I started, that I wanted to get in the story of how-they-met. _**

**_The result is darker than I intended. Byakuya's character only becomes fully formed here. He's consistent with the rest of my writing, but, if you've read the other eps, he can be kind of volatile and it's only really here that that all makes sense (to me too, since I was largely unsatisfied with his characterisation until this part of the story)._**

**_Hisana was a dream, as she seemed to write herself and emerged, fully-formed, as a girl with a hell of a lot more attitude than I'd accredited her with. It was her character and the events of the story, which unfolded almost entirely unplanned on my part, that made me want to put this online. I've said before that characters write themselves, but, in this case, I, as an author, felt wholly redundant in a way I never have before. It's a kind of magic when that happens. It also feels like I can hardly take credit for the result (although that might make it sound like this fic is gonna be way better than it is so scratch that). Anyway, the good bits are down to Hisana; the cr*p bits are down to my poor writing skills. Since Kubo is unlikely to ever make this canon, I felt I owed it to the girl to publish this online._**


End file.
